Tips on Taking Care of Your Washing Machine

I just love modern conveniences. Consider the modern washing machine for fabrics gone are the days when we had to take our basket of clothes to the creek to scrub the dirt on rocks rinsing by hand. Or how about scrubbing them in the sink at home and then running them through the old hand ringer. Ok I bet none of us have ever hand scrub our clothes on a rock.

Modern conveniences are wonderful, but with those marvels come moving parts that can and will plug, and break. Here are some tips for caring for your washing machine.

• Never over load can the washing machine, too much weight throw it out of balance forever.
• Pay attention when you put the soap in, more is not always better.
• The knobs are fragile and should not just be spun with the force of an ape. You can damage the timer which is often the most expensive part or break the plastic dial off.
• Do run the machine empty with hot water and a quarter cup of baking soda to help clean the inside of the drum. Run the machine on and extra rinse to get all the baking soda out.
• Here is a tip that should be really useful. You may have notice that your washing machine fills slower in cold than it used to it just seems to have gotten slower over time. Where the water hose connections attach on the unit on the line marked cold there is a filter in the hose and over time the filter gets plugged.
  • Locate the cold water hose and turn off the valve.
  • Remove the hose from the back of the washing machine (have a bucket to catch the water left in the hose.
  • Look in the hole on the washing machine.
  • Using a pair of tweezers remove the cone shaped filter.
  • Take the filter to the sink and rinse until it is clear.
  • Put it back together the way it came a part.
  • Turn the washer on in cold and notice how the pressure picks up. You will need to clean that filter out every so often.

• Do not over load the machine.
• Do clean out the lint trap the unit has to breathe.
• Do check the hose for the vent to make sure it is clear and venting correctly.

You can find this tip and others as well as service people who want to help you with your repairs and maintenance at: http://www.homemaintenanceworld.com

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